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Heavy rain dominated the tenth race of the DTM season at the Red Bull Ring (AT). The BMW drivers struggled in extremely slippery conditions and were unable to match the pace being set at the front of the field. Audi driver Mattias Ekström (SE) won the race, which not a single BMW M4 DTM finished in the points.
António Félix da Costa (PT, Red Bull BMW M4 DTM) was the best-placed BMW driver, ending the rain-dominated race in 11th. He was followed over the finish line by Marco Wittmann (DE, Ice-Watch BMW M4 DTM) and Martin Tomczyk (DE, BMW M Performance Parts M4 DTM) in 12th and 13th. Timo Glock finished 15th in the DEUTSCHE POST BMW M4 DTM, just ahead of fellow BMW Team MTEK driver Bruno Spengler (CA, BMW Bank M4 DTM). Augusto Farfus (BR, Shell BMW M4 DTM) came home 19th, closely followed by Maxime Martin (BE, SAMSUNG BMW M4 DTM). Tom Blomqvist retired with mechanical problems with five minutes of the race remaining.

Reactions to the tenth race of the 2015 DTM season.
Jens Marquardt (BMW Motorsport Director): “On the whole, this has been a very difficult weekend for us. Even in dry conditions on Saturday we did not manage to get the best out of our package, with only Augusto Farfus and Marco Wittmann finishing in the points. A tough qualifying session meant that we were always going to have to rely on strategy to get a good result today. For this to be the case, we would have needed a safety car. That never happened. Therefore, 11th is our best finish. We are obviously not satisfied with that.”
António Félix da Costa (BMW Team Schnitzer, 11th): “We did what we could with the speed we had. I only made one little mistake, and that cost me a few seconds. All in all, I was able to climb a few places. That is a good sign. The weather meant the conditions out there were pretty tough.”

We all know quite a bit about the new G11/G12 BMW 7 Series. It’s been lightened, stiffened, luxurized (if that isn’t a word, I’m coining it) and given enough tech to make the international space stations seem outdated. But we haven’t seen much of that wasn’t just press release pictures. It’s good to see some real pictures and maybe even some video of a new car to get a better look at what it’s really like. Well Auto Express has a video demonstrating some of the new things the 7 Series has to offer and it’s nice to see them in real time and not just words on a screen.

In the video, they go through seven things that stand out about the new 7 Series, ranging from the new exterior design to the new technologies. They sample the luxurious cabin and gesture control so we can see just how some of these things actually work. The G11 7 Series looks okay in pictures, but it looks far better in motion with someone standing next to it. The interior is the same, looking like just another luxurious BMW in pictures but looks, but in the video you can really get a feel for how spacious and comfortable the cabin is.

So check this video out and get a good feel for what the new 7er is actually like. Unfortunately, they don’t get to drive it but no one has yet so we’ll have to settle for this for the moment. Auto Express has been putting out some good videos lately and this is another. So watch it and check the G11 7 Series out in as close to the flesh as to can currently get.
The article BMW G11 7 Series Walkthrough Video appeared first on BMW BLOG

Three competitions, three gold medals and three world titles: at the 2015 UCI Para-cycling Road World Championship in Nottwil, BMW works driver Alessandro Zanardi celebrated a golden hat-trick.

Zanardi also won Sunday’s road race in the MH5 category (men’s hand-cycle). On Wednesday the BMW works driver and BMW Brand Ambassador won the team-relay with the Italian national team, and on Friday he successfully defended his world title in the time-trial. Now, for the second time in his career, he has also been crowned world champion in the road race. His success is even more remarkable as Zanardi contested the 24-hour race at Spa-Francorchamps in his BMW Z4 GT3 last weekend, while his competitors were in their final preparations for the para-cycling races at Nottwil.
To conclude the world championships at Nottwil, the athletes tackled the 46.5-kilometre road race, completing three laps on the challenging course, which included exhausting uphill and fast downhill sections. The competition turned out to be a real thriller. When Zanardi entered the Nottwil stadium, where the final spurt towards the finish was contested, he was second, closely behind Dutch athlete Jetze Plat. In a nail-biting final sprint the duo fought for the world title with Zanardi crossing the line with a small advantage in front of his rival. In total, he completed the 46.5 kilometres in 1:29:21 hours. Plat finished second, his Dutch countryman Johan Reekers was third.
“The time trial was a great race but today’s road race was even better, because until the line it was absolutely unpredictable,” said Zanardi. “I did not plan to come into the stadium second, I had planned on entering it in first position. As a matter of fact I planned to cross the last hill leading by myself, but my young competitors are just amazing and it was a fight until the last metre of the climb. Then downhill it was a crazy run towards the end. Afterwards it was clear that it would be decided between me and Jetze. Over the last two kilometres it was a race where you needed to keep a cool head. We both sprinted to take the last corner going into the stadium and he managed to get in front of me. At that point I thought I had lost the race, but then I said to myself: ‘Hey Alex, you are a racing driver. Just focus and take advantage of the last opportunity’. This opportunity came up shortly before the last corner. I just went for it, and when he went to move over to get the best line I was there. I had already taken the inside and the race was won. I am really, really happy with the last week. To compete at Spa-Francorchamps with Timo and Bruno, then to come here and win three gold medals – that is just an amazing experience. But now I am looking forward to getting a little bit of rest.”
With his three wins at Nottwil, Zanardi now has a total of eight para-cycling world titles to his name. The results of this year’s UCI Para-cycling Road World Championship count towards qualifying for the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

Earlier this year, Miami hosted the annual Festivals of Speed, a gathering of high-end cars and a showcase of aftermarket tuning and customizations. By any standard, this is the most important car event in the Miami automotive scene, so naturally owners of special automobiles gathered to celebrate the beauty of their cars.
The Florida-based Precision Sport Industries also attended the event with their own BMWs, including a new M3 sedan in Austin Yellow and an M4 in Sakhir Orange. Oldies like, E36 M3s and E46 M3s were present as well to showcase the brand’s heritage.
It was a sun filed even and those images below make you want to move to Florida to escape the snowy and salt-covered roads in some parts of the world.

BMW Abu Dhabi is slowly building a reputation for taking a base BMW and turning into a special car. This latest project takes the new BMW M3 Sedan to a whole new level. Featuring the BMW Individual Tanzanite Blue color, the sporty sedan dips deep into the M Performance Catalog to give its exterior design a makeover.
At the front, the large air inlets are now made of carbon fiber while the front lip painted in the same Individual color improves the car’s aerodynamics and downforce. Moving to the side we immediately notice the M Performance Brakes Kit with blue calipers.

The rear end is where most of the work has been performance, beginning with a carbon fiber diffuser and ending with the Akrapovic EVO Exhaust System and a carbon fiber racing wing designed by AC Schnitzer. While it may not be everyone’s cup of tea, the wing makes the car stand out a bit more on the road without being too flashy.

Inside the cabin, the carbon fiber trim is paired with soft leather in the Sakhir Orange color. A set of aluminum pedals reminds us once again that this car was built for the track. And if that wasn’t proof enough, then the M Performance Steering wheel in Alcantara seals the deal.

For more images of this special project, take a look at the photo gallery below.

Heavy rain ahead of qualifying for race ten of the DTM season at the Red Bull Ring made for extremely difficult track conditions during the 20-minute session.

The BMW M4 DTM did not cope as well as the opposition with these tricky conditions: none of the eight BMW DTM drivers ended the session in the top ten.
Martin Tomczyk (BMW M Performance Parts M4 DTM) and Maxime Martin (SAMSUNG BMW M4 DTM) qualified 14th and 15th. António Félix da Costa (Red Bull BMW M4 DTM) was 18th, while Bruno Spengler (BMW Bank M4 DTM), Marco Wittmann (Ice-Watch BMW M4 DTM), Tom Blomqvist (BMW M4 DTM), Augusto Farfus (Shell BMW M4 DTM) and Timo Glock (DEUTSCHE POST BMW M4 DTM) occupied positions 20 to 24.
Quote from the best-placed BMW driver.
“Performance was not good in the rain. I expected better. We must now find out whether it was a result of the set-up, the others taking a chance, or the wrong tyre pressures. The result is disappointing. Our car was just not fast enough. To make matters worse, the wet-weather tyres then started to wear and it started to rain more heavily again. That put an end to any hope of improving.” – Martin Tomczyk (BMW Team Schnitzer, 14th)

Heavy rain dominated the tenth race of the DTM season at the Red Bull Ring. The BMW drivers struggled in extremely slippery conditions and were unable to match the pace being set at the front of the field.

Audi driver Mattias Ekström won the race, which not a single BMW M4 DTM finished in the points.
António Félix da Costa (Red Bull BMW M4 DTM) was the best-placed BMW driver, ending the rain-dominated race in 11th. He was followed over the finish line by Marco Wittmann (Ice-Watch BMW M4 DTM) and Martin Tomczyk (BMW M Performance Parts M4 DTM) in 12th and 13th. Timo Glock finished 15th in the DEUTSCHE POST BMW M4 DTM, just ahead of fellow BMW Team MTEK driver Bruno Spengler (BMW Bank M4 DTM). Augusto Farfus (Shell BMW M4 DTM) came home 19th, closely followed by Maxime Martin (SAMSUNG BMW M4 DTM). Tom Blomqvist retired with mechanical problems with five minutes of the race remaining.
Reactions to the tenth race of the 2015 DTM season.
Jens Marquardt (BMW Motorsport Director): “On the whole, this has been a very difficult weekend for us. Even in dry conditions on Saturday we did not manage to get the best out of our package, with only Augusto Farfus and Marco Wittmann finishing in the points. A tough qualifying session meant that we were always going to have to rely on strategy to get a good result today. For this to be the case, we would have needed a safety car. That never happened. Therefore, 11th is our best finish. We are obviously not satisfied with that.”
António Félix da Costa (BMW Team Schnitzer, 11th): “We did what we could with the speed we had. I only made one little mistake, and that cost me a few seconds. All in all, I was able to climb a few places. That is a good sign. The weather meant the conditions out there were pretty tough.”

Read any single article on the internet about BMWs and you’ll be sure to find at least one sentence in it where the author talks about the good ole days in one form or another. It’s either about how BMW’s steering isn’t as pure as it used to be or how BMWs have gotten too heavy or whatever it may be, people are always comparing BMWs to the ones of the past. But are the oldies really that much better?
Well, I decided to ask you kind folk. See, I was thinking about this question and it’s harder to answer than one might think. The old BMWs, like say an E30 M3, are fantastic as they have incredibly pure steering and dynamics and aren’t weighed down my modern luxury amenities. However, those modern luxury amenities are wonderful to have. Sure, the E30 M3’s steering is better than that of the new M3’s, but it’s also more uncomfortable, doesn’t have heated leather seats and satellite navigation and automatic climate control. Those things are nice to have and it’s not like the current M3 is a dog around corners. It’s quite fantastic, actually. So is the E30 actually the better car just because you can feel the road through the steering a bit more?

But it isn’t just the M3 that gets this comparison. Read a review of a 6 Series or 7 Series and there will still be a reference to the way things used to be and why they were better back then. But again, were they? Or are we just looking through rose-tinted specs? Would the people of the 1980s prefer their version of the M5 to our current one? Or would they appreciate the supreme comfort it now comes with, while also delivery mighty performance?
So this leads me to my question. Which BMWs were actually better back then, which BMWs would you actually prefer an older model over the newer one or vice versa if you had to pick just one generation from each Series model? I’ll start to give examples.
1 / 2 Series – 1 Series: But only because of the 1 Series M. I actually prefer the 2 Series to the standard 1 Series models. Though the M2 might change my mind.

3 / 4 Series – E36: but I’m biased because I have one. I do love the way it drives, though, and it’s comfort and practicality are fantastic. I actually love all 3 Series models, but I have to go with my home team on this one, over even the E30 and its mighty M3.

5 Series – E28: But This one’s tough, because I do like the current model a lot and the E39 is fantastic as well. But I actually love the way the E28 looks and that’s the deal breaker for me and the E28 has the original M5 which is just so damn lovely.

6 Series – F06: I know it’s the Gran Coupe, but it still counts as a 6 Series and it’s the 6er I’d choose out of all of them.

7 Series – E38: This one’s easy for me, go for the Frank Martin special. The E38 is hands down my favorite 7er, but in fairness, I haven’t yet driven the new G11 obviously so I can’t really say until I drive that. Maybe it changes my mind.

So these are the generations I’d choose out of each BMW Series model. Now you go and let us know which you think is best.
The article Best BMW Series generations appeared first on BMW BLOG

One of the quirkiest yet fun to drive BMWs ever made was the BMW Z4M. Not many Z4Ms sold, and BMW was left having to slash prices on new models to move them out of the door as there were too many made and not enough demand. BMW learned its lesson and chose to limit production numbers on future niche M cars, like the 1 Series M Coupe. But because the Z4M wasn’t universally loved, you’d be hard pressed to find one on the road. And despite its slightly strange looks and lack of popularity, the Z4M is actually quite an excellent car to drive.

The BMW Z4M isn’t without an audience though, albeit a small one. A small cult following has developed behind the Z4M, much like the Z3M Coupe’s. The reason for this is that a small number of people appreciate the way it drives, despite its strange looks and lack of attention. These people love that it’s powered by an S54 3.2 liter I6 engine that makes 343 hp and is mated to a six-speed manual. They like the funky hatchback body style and long sharknose hood. They also like how it’s one of the better handling BMWs of its decade.

So for those fine folk who have an appreciation for the slightly odd but truly great, I present to you this 2007 BMW Z4M for sale. This particular Z4M is painted in Black Sapphire Metallic and has Black leather interior. It only has 30,000 miles on it, so it’s very lightly used. It also seems to be in excellent condition. The interior is also pretty loaded, with heated sport seats and carbon fiber trim. It’s probably the best looking example of a Z4M I’ve ever seen.

The price is a bit steep for a car that’s almost 10 years old, at $30,000, but it is a rare car and one that could be a future classic. Buy this now, treat it with respect and car, keep it in pristine condition and you could probably sell it later on down the road for a considerable sum more than what you paid for it. If not, then you have yourself one of the best driving little unknown gems BMW ever produced.